┌─────⋅❃⋅⚜⋅❃⋅─────┐
"Baby, we were born with fire and gold in our eyes
With fire and gold in our eyes, eyes
Got lightning in a bottle, hands on the throttle
Even in the dust, we shine"
Bea Miller, FIRE N GOLD
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༺༻
When Stiles and Bree walked through the front door to the McCall house, most of the pack had already gathered in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones. It seemed Scott had yet to wake up and join them, probably recovering from the extensive wounds. Stepping into the kitchen, Bree took note of the dark circles under Liam's eyes, assuming he hadn't slept much while everyone else looked as if they had plenty.
Malia seemed wide awake, standing over the kitchen counter while Kira stood beside Liam on the other side, and nervously messed with the ends of her French braid. Lydia leaned over the end of the counter between the werecoyote and beta wolf as Allison crossed her arms on the opposite side. There was noticeable tension and mild-running emotions among the group with a hint of high anxiety. Bree furrowed her brows in confusion, wondering who it came from.
"Where are we with finding Mason?" questioned Allison, trying to cut the tense silence.
"Well, my dad's got an APB out—"
Kira interrupted Stiles, "For a 5'8" sixteen-year-old?"
Stiles corrected her, "I recommended a nine-foot-tall rampaging werewolf."
"It still might not be him," Liam disagreed worriedly, holding on to hope that they were wrong. That earned him pointed looks. "But, Hayden's at the school looking."
"I can keep checking the woods," Malia brought up as everyone nodded in agreement.
At a new emotion of relief, Bree turned to the doorway, finding a fully dressed Scott by it. She watched him hide the smile he wanted to show, claiming while the group turned to him, "My mom can check all the hospitals in the county. We can find him."
Liam eyed him carefully, asking in concern, "What happens then?"
"We figure out a way to save him."
"Okay." Lydia nodded before inquiring the alpha, "Where else could we look?"
"Let's ask Corey," Scott stated casually, gripping tightly at the air behind him, and forcing Corey to stop camouflaging himself in the corner of the room.
Realizing that's where the anxiety she sensed earlier came from, Bree narrowed her eyes at the Chimera.
Corey stammered quickly, afraid Scott would hurt him, "Wait! Wait! It's not my fault. They took him and I couldn't do anything. They took him—"
"Who?" interjected an irritated Scott.
"The Dread Doctors."
With the worried looks his friends were giving him, Scott came to a decision. "Now, we need a plan."
With a slight head tilt, Lydia determined, "Well, we should figure out how Mason fits into all this."
"But doesn't it seem like we're past that?" asked Kira while Bree shook her head.
"We went over lists of potential Chimeras and somehow overlooked Mason. There's obviously something we missed."
Scott nodded along, insisting, "She's right. We don't have all the information. So, until we do, we're splitting up. Some of us should go to the school to search for Mason, and some of us work on finding answers."
The alpha held up his bike helmet, signaling his departure when Allison spoke up, "I'll come with you."
"I'll tag along too," mentioned Bree while Liam rushed to meet Scott at the door.
"Actually, Bree, we need your help on the answers."
The blonde whirled around at Stiles' words. "What? Why me?"
Stiles replied matter-of-factly, shifting his weight shyly, "Valack used you to have the Phoenix try to answer the question in the first place."
"But I don't remember a lot of what happened. I don't think I ever answered it."
"Then maybe it's not such a good idea to have you in a place where Theo might show up," the red-haired Banshee across from her pointed out.
The Stilinski kid cocked his head to the side, blinking in thought. "He does have an irritating tendency to show up for classes."
Bree groaned, knowing her begging to attend her own classes would be useless. "Fine, but Valack could have done the same thing to Lydia, so I vote she helps us."
"Works for me," Stiles shrugged as the strawberry blonde rolled her eyes.
༺༻
Allison could tell how nervous Scott felt, trying so hard not to let it show, but she knew him better than that.
"How desperate are we?" Liam whispered as they approached the locker room door.
Scott exhaled heavily, catching Allison's deep brown eyes before replying, "Incredibly desperate."
With that, the Alpha opened the door, revealing Tracy and Theo on the other side. Allison held down the rage she felt toward the lead Chimera as they walked inside, closing the door firmly behind them for privacy. Venturing further, the trio met in the middle of the locker room, waiting for the bell to ring before Theo started with a smug smirk, "Told you we'd both end up on the same side."
"How 'bout I punch you in the balls to remind you we're not?" Liam commented, remembering what Bree told him at the beginning of the school year.
Scott looked over at him, interested in where that came from when Theo laughed, "I love this kid."
Tracy's jaw clenched in irritation. "I don't."
"We know you're not on our side, Theo," corrected Scott as Allison and Liam simultaneously glared at the Kanima-Chimera. "You said you wanted to help Lydia and Bree but you left Eichen with something else, didn't you?"
"You mean the mask? Are you worried about that?"
"Did you put it on?"
No one spoke in response to the question. Scott only noticed the look Tracy gave Theo causing his concern to rise. "Who did you see?"
"Not Mason."
Allison stepped forward, furrowing her brows as she questioned, "What does that mean?"
Liam mirrored her, asking hopefully, "Does that mean it's not him?"
"It probably means he's a lost cause," answered Tracy's disdainful tone.
"We all want the same thing," Theo lied with a charming smile. "We want Mason back."
Allison narrowed her eyes, remarking, "Except we want him back alive."
Theo chuckled, slowly pacing toward Scott, "Well, I'm open to compromise. You still got the map with the telluric currents on it?"
Scott merely narrowed his eyes in confusion, trying to understand what Theo could want with it.
"Bring it to the operating theater in two hours."
Taking deep breaths in and out, the McCall teen finally gave in, affirming, "Fine," before he headed for the locker door, Liam and Allison at his heels.
Once they filed out of the locker room, Allison began to slowly close the door, asking, "How desperate are we again?"
"Incredibly," Scott sighed back loudly.
༺༻
Bree had never been more bored out of her mind. The Stilinski kid and Lydia finally gave her a mental break after an hour of going over the events that occurred at Eichen. They had gone to the Sheriff's Station after the pack meeting at the McCall house. How they expected to go over the information she had forgotten after Valack's experimentation on her, she had no idea. Bree only knew one thing: she was extremely frustrated at her lack of memory of the event.
Instead of berating herself, she sat on the couch in the Sheriff's office with crossed legs and a hand rubbing her temple. There had to be a better way of shutting off her increased empathy without entirely losing her humanity in the process. After receiving a text from Allison an hour ago that Scott and Liam were helping Theo, so he, in turn, would help them, Bree chose to seethe over it in silence over the terrible idea.
Lydia seemed to notice her tense friend, and squeezed the blonde's hand before standing across from Stilinski at his desk, opening her mouth to say something when Stiles entered the room. The brunet sighed, shutting the office door behind him, "Still nothing from Scott and Liam."
Lydia glanced between the Sheriff and his son, asking, "Are we really sure this is a good idea?
"Uh, no. No one thinks this is a good idea," Stiles replied with a head shake.
"But you're trusting Theo, anyway?" his dad mentioned.
"God, I hope not."
Stilinski narrowed his eyes worriedly at the blonde with her eyes closed. "You got a problem with this plan too?"
Bree scoffed in return, "No. I have a problem when Theo decides we're suddenly cool after putting me and Lydia in the hospital."
"Look, we're not trusting him," Stiles stressed, whiskey-brown eyes focusing on his girl. "We're using him."
Bree tilted her head, questioning, "And what if he's just using us?"
"That's probably a given. But, look, we're just trying to cover every place Mason could show up. Malia and Braeden are at Scott's house. Allison and Hunter are checking the main roads."
"Melissa's got the hospital," the Sheriff jumped in.
"Hayden and Corey are at the school," Lydia nodded in conclusion.
Bree pinched the bridge of her nose at the slight headache coming on. "So basically, we've covered all the bases and somebody needs to find him."
The redhead across from her commented worriedly, "Well, let's hope they find Mason and not the Beast."
Sighing exasperatedly, Bree held her head in her hand, elbow leaning on the couch armrest while closing her eyes. Trying to recollect what she went through at Eichen was like trying to keep water in her hands. And that's what annoyed Bree — the gaps in her memory that she tried to reach for, but couldn't quite grasp. She knew trauma lingered and she knew she simply needed time to heal. But it still didn't bring her comfort.
It meant she couldn't help her friends the way she wanted to.
She hadn't noticed an hour passing until her phone rang loudly, catching her attention. Slipping it out of her pocket, the blonde picked up immediately at the sight of her brother's name. "Find anything?"
"We're a no-go down the main roads."
Bree sighed in disappointment while Allison added, "We even checked downtown, thinking about the clubs he went to on the weekends."
"Anything there?" Hunter questioned, trying to remain hopeful.
"Nope."
"Same here," Stiles replied exasperatedly to Melissa on the phone while Lydia paced past him.
"Anything on your end?" she questioned the werecoyote on the other end.
"Not a thing. And I'm gonna lose my mind if I don't get out of this supernatural cage."
The Banshee rolled her eyes, reminding her friend, "The Mountain Ash is there to keep you safe."
"I should be keeping Stiles and Bree safe."
At that moment, Lydia caught Stiles clumsily walking into the wall next to the door, screwing up the blinds on the window. She heard Bree mutter a tired, "Damn it, Stiles," and watched him try to recover from the mistake he made, glancing around to see if anyone else saw. Lydia sighed in annoyance, eye twitching slightly as she replied, "They'll be fine. Call me if anything changes."
༺༻
Several hours passed when Bree woke from her short nap, noticing someone breathing heavily on her neck. She blinked multiple times, trying to rid herself of the leftover exhaustion before recognizing Stiles burying his face into the space between her neck and shoulder, mouth open and drooling lightly on her shirt. Despite it not being one of his better moments, Bree had to admit she missed him... more than she thought.
Hearing the sound of Lydia's heels, the blonde turned to the doorway, catching her friend's green eyes. The Banshee cocked a curious brow and jutted her chin at the boy sleeping on Bree's shoulder. The blush on Bree's cheeks didn't go unnoticed before she cleared her throat and pressed a thumb directly into the center of Stiles' forehead. The cold extremity forced him awake from the deep slumber.
He sharply inhaled, jolting away from Bree, "What? What happened? Who's dead?"
"No one," Lydia replied while Bree forced Stiles over to create a spot for the redhead. "Well, at least not yet."
"Well, that's comforting," the blonde deadpanned before quickly realizing that she had been partly sitting on Stiles' lap for the past minute. Her eyes flicked over to the dark-haired teen's flustered face as he squirmed slightly, moving over to the side, giving her more room on the couch. Bree bit her lip, hiding a grin while mumbling out an apology.
Lydia sighed impatiently, pulling out her phone to check for any new messages, and prompting her two friends to follow. Ten seconds later, the teens put up their phones, letting silence overtake the room again. Stiles began patting his thighs nervously, Bree fiddled with her bracelets, and the Banshee at the end of the couch glanced over at them, concerned over the anxiety they demonstrated.
"You guys okay?"
Turning to her, Stiles answered groggily, "Yeah, I'm still thinking. Still trying to figure out why Mason."
Bree added, "It had to be something we overlooked. Maybe something medical?"
"But he wasn't even on the Genetic Chimera list."
"He is now." The teenagers whipped their heads to the office door, noting Melissa McCall entering with a file in hand. She marched over to the Sheriff's desk and opened up the folder along the flat surface, stating, "Mason was born with twin embolization syndrome."
Bree tilted her head as she stood up to join the nurse, Stiles and Lydia doing the same, curiosity in their eyes while she inquired, "Fetal resorption? That's interesting, given the statistic is 21-30 percent chance of likelihood in multifetal pregnancies."
The Stilinski boy whipped his head to her, brows shooting up in surprise, despite his confusion on the topic. Melissa merely hummed in response while Lydia asked for clarification, "He had a vanishing twin in utero?"
"Which accounts for two sets of DNA."
"Can someone please say it with words that have less than three syllables?" Stiles questioned confused.
Bree sighed before she and Melissa explained, "He ate his twin."
Stiles murmured a soft, "Oh, God."
"But did it help?" asked Lydia.
"I don't know. But it's just bizarre enough to sound like it might be important, right?"
Lydia leaned forward, assuring, "It has to help. There has to be something."
Melissa flipped a page over, showing the teenagers Mason's sonogram photo.
༺༻
Stiles, begrudgingly, left the Sheriff's station to speak with Deaton over what they learned about Mason. Given the fact that Deaton was technically a medical professional, the Stilinski kid assumed the veterinarian would know more useful information since Melissa had to get back to the hospital. It comforted him that Lydia stayed behind with Bree, keeping a watchful eye on her in case she started sleepwalking again.
"Vanishing twin syndrome," repeated Deaton, trying to take in the new information Stiles gave him. He looked over the papers in the folder the teenager brought him, brows furrowed down in concern over the new development.
Stiles stared at him expectantly, claiming, "This is part of your expertise, right?"
"Not particularly, no."
The vet placed the sonogram on the metal table carefully when the two heard the door open and slam. Turning to the side entrance, Stiles and Deaton watched as Liam and Scott shuffled in with one of the Dread Doctors between them. The creepy Dread Doctor's heavy breathing reminded Stiles of Darth Vader as his eyes widened in shock. He hadn't seen them up close before, ignoring the chill that ran down his spine.
"He's still alive," mentioned an exhausted Scott.
"Get him on the table," Deaton ordered, moving Mason's medical file out of the way while the two werewolves gently set the Dread Doctor on the table.
Scott glanced at his mentor, asking, "Can you keep him alive?"
"I'm not sure he technically is alive."
"Screw keeping him alive," Liam interjected, angry over losing his best friend. "How do we get him to talk?
Stiles cocked an eyebrow at the beta, mentioning casually, "Personally, I don't think we utilize torture nearly enough."
While Deaton and Scott gave the Stilinski kid pointed looks, Liam suddenly perked up, questioning, "Did you hear that?"
Met with Stiles and Deaton's blank stares, Liam watched fearfully as the Dread Doctor shot up and a high-pitched whine sounded. It shook everything in the room and pierced everyone's ears, causing them to cover them, wincing away from the overwhelming noise. The Dread Doctor's boots hit the floor with a large thump. Noticing him getting away, Liam ran forward, attempting to stop him from leaving the clinic.
"Liam, wait!" Scott shouted above the loud whine.
The Dread Doctor held up an electrified glove that pushed the beta across the room and into a filing cabinet. Once he collapsed onto the floor, the Dread Doctor already stepped out the door, the whine descending to a low hum the further away he walked. Scott and Liam were about to head for the exit when everything metallic shifted slightly before flying across the room to block their way out.
Groaning irritatedly, Liam stepped toward it, but Deaton warned him just in time, "Stop! It's electrified."
༺༻
By the time the boys and Deaton discovered they could bring Mason back, and they needed Lydia to do it, it was too late.
Sebastien Valet had already slashed the Banshee's throat.
It had been the third time Bree found herself at Beacon Hills Memorial with Lydia's blood on her. She hated how much of a habit it became. During the ride to the hospital, she held tightly to one of her best friends, desperately taking her pain through a clenched jaw and tense muscles. She found it hard to keep herself from crying, feeling the strong anguish projected from the Banshee. But she couldn't let Lydia go through that.
When they arrived, the Sheriff immediately hoisted the girl out of the police cruiser and into the emergency entrance, calling out Melissa's name. It hadn't taken long for nurses to wheel the poor girl into surgery on a gurney. Unable to focus, Bree took a seat in the waiting area, staring absentmindedly at her hands before Melissa found her. The McCall woman, noticing the signs of shock, offered Bree a new shirt and a bathroom to wash up in, just like before.
But no matter how long she scrubbed in the sink, the blonde girl couldn't shake the feeling that she still had blood on her hands.
Once she finally stepped out, Bree stayed glued to her spot in the waiting area, leg bouncing and eyes fixated on the patterned floor. She hadn't realized how long she had been there until she could feel dried tears on her cheeks before someone sat in the chair beside her. Another body took the seat on her other side but she refused to acknowledge them, already knowing who they were after their feelings of anxiety and determination hit her like a truck.
"Are you okay?" questioned Scott, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
Bree shook her head, telling him, "I'm not the one in pain."
"We know," Stiles replied, taking her trembling hand in his. "Melissa told us."
Exhaling a heavy breath, one she had been holding for too long, Bree's knee bounced faster. There had to be a better way of centering herself, something to help block out everything happening around them, all the pain and turmoil everyone in the hospital felt. And then it happened... three gentle squeezes in her hand. It brought her attention to Stiles' whiskey-brown eyes and comforting smile, her light in the dark tunnel.
The small gesture reminded her of the tactic she and Stiles used. Focusing her supernaturally advanced hearing and fluttering her eyelids down, the blonde listened to Stiles' heartbeat, which thudded sporadically due to his nervousness. With each thump, the more in control she felt, slowly calming down from her own overwhelming feelings, and allowing everyone else's to drift away. She thought it similar to closing doors, shutting each one and walking away.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Allison standing before the three of them. Bree watched her best friend's face trying not to seem worried, but the blonde saw it in her dark brown eyes. Standing quickly, Bree slipped her hand from Stiles' to engulf the huntress in a warm embrace, hoping to relieve the concern for their friend. Trying to hide her absorbing Allison's strong emotions didn't work as well as she hoped.
Scott knew, smelling the anxiety and fear transferring to Bree.
After a firm, and needed, hug, the girls pulled away, watching Scott walk down the hall to speak with Liam. The blonde scanned around, brows furrowed down worriedly before she questioned, "Where's Hunt?"
Allison smiled a little, responding, "He went to check in on Lydia."
Bree offered a grin in return, remembering how much he liked their red-haired friend. It made sense for him to see her. As Scott talked with Liam, Stiles filled the girls in on what happened at the clinic with the Dread Doctor. That included the electrified field that kept them from leaving, and what they learned about the connection between Mason and Lydia through the medical file Melissa showed them earlier.
"So," Bree drew out, making sure she understood what Stiles told them. "Lydia's the solution."
"Yeah," nodded back Stiles.
Taking a seat, Allison bit at her nails, mentioning, "But how can she help if she's here and unable to speak?"
Before Stiles could respond, Scott and Liam darted over with new determination on their faces. Allison, Bree, and Stiles glanced up, wondering what happened when the alpha ordered, "Allison, grab Hunter and find my mom. Tell her to grab a cortisone shot. This isn't over yet."
"Cortisone helps with inflammation," Bree nodded, a proud smile growing as she eyed the werewolf. "What are the rest of us doing?"
"Getting Lydia ready."
Obeying the instructions given, Stiles and Bree followed Scott and Liam to Lydia's room while Allison headed downstairs with Hunter. The blonde softly told her friend they were going to turn the lights on and explain to her the plan Scott had come up with. When they had done so, Bree stood close by Stiles at the edge of the bed, locking pinkies with him while the two werewolves took a side of the bed to help Lydia.
Scott gently told the Banshee, "Lydia, we need you to sit up, okay?"
The strawberry blonde merely nodded slowly in response, attempting to lift herself into a sitting position on the hospital bed with the help of Scott and Liam on either side of her. When she began groaning painfully, squeezing her eyes shut, Bree felt a protective ferocity overtake her. Stiles noticed it when he glanced over... the amethyst and orange Phoenix eyes brightly shining in the somewhat darker side of the room.
"Bree," he called softly, grasping her hand tightly to stop her from doing anything she'd regret. The blonde seemed to blink herself out of it, taking deep breaths. The boy beside her pointed at her eyes, whispering worriedly, "That a new development?"
"I guess so," she answered, not entirely sure herself what had happened.
"That might cause some problems."
"Just don't piss me off and we're good."
Stiles scoffed back quietly as the door opened, "I wouldn't dream of it."
Melissa, Hunter, and Allison stepped across the threshold quietly, closing the door behind them. Scott's mom looked at Lydia in concern, fully understanding the stakes. Allison stood on the other side of Bree, watching as the nurse held up a needle, informing the girl on the bed, "Lydia, this is gonna have to be just between us, since I can get fired for it."
Scott added to clarify, "It's a cortisone shot. It's gonna bring the inflammation down."
The Banshee nodded tiredly in reply, eyes drooping slightly while Melissa uncapped the needle. Lydia pulled her left arm out of the bedsheets and draped it on her side, ready for the McCall woman to inject her with the tool.
"Not there."
Green eyes widened before Melissa peeled back the bandage on her neck, Lydia groaning in the process.
Stiles could already see spots in his vision, claiming, "Oh, yeah, okay, I'm gonna need to leave."
Melissa nodded in understanding, "That's fine, but someone should hold her hand."
"I can," muttered Hunter, stepping forward and clutching Lydia's small hand in his large one.
Before Stiles could head out the door, he felt Bree's hand tighten in his grasp, watching the scene in front of them. Her eyes silently begged him to stay, if not for Lydia, then at least for her. It wasn't an easy thing to see a friend punctured with a needle in the neck.
"Okay, fine," he replied gently, remaining in his spot at Bree's side. "I'm not leaving, but I still might faint."
"I'll catch you," mumbled Bree, leaning closer and linking their arms.
Melissa exhaled slowly, steadying the medical tool close to the girl's neck, "Okay. Here we go."
Before anything happened, Stiles, Bree, and Allison watched Liam's unconscious body hit the ground with a thud. Everyone's eyes were briefly on the sophomore while Scott and Allison ran over, checking on him.
"Okay, Lydia," Melissa grabbed the Banshee's attention again. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch."
Bree's heart clenched at Lydia's whimpering and she hid her face in Stiles' shoulder as he wrapped his other arm around her. She heard him whisper assurances in her ear, his breath warming her cheek and neck. Meanwhile, Hunter could have sworn the strawberry-blonde had super strength based on the way she gripped his hand. He seemed to have lost feeling in it while Melissa injected her neck with the cortisone shot, hearing her croaking gasp.
When Melissa finished, she redressed the wound and applied a new bandage as Allison stepped forward with fresh clothes for the redhead. The boys left to allow the girls privacy in helping Lydia change, the girl trio silent as they did so. With the task completed, they exited the hospital room, Allison and Bree taking a side to assist their best friend toward the elevator with the boys trailing in behind them.
After reaching the ground floor, Allison and Bree maneuvered Lydia into the hall first once the doors opened, the others following close behind. Stiles brushed past, ready to sprint down the hallway to leave the hospital, claiming, "Okay. I'll get Malia."
"I'm coming with you," Bree interrupted immediately. She allowed Scott and Allison to steady the Banshee as she let go and stepped toward the Stilinski kid, growing worried with every passing second that Malia didn't text or call.
He nodded in agreement, telling Scott, "Text us when you find Parrish."
"Hold on!" called Scott, stopping them from leaving.
Holding hands, the two backtracked, eyeing a small, wrapped package Scott had pulled out of his jacket. He firmly handed it to Stiles, who took it quizzically.
"What is it?" Bree asked, narrowing her eyes at the object.
"Something I've been working on for a while. Just make sure Malia gets it."
Stiles leaned forward, wondering, "Is it plan B?"
"It was plan A."
"Plan A never works."
"This one will," answered a more determined Scott.
Ready to run, Stiles nodded and grasped Bree's hand tightly, "Okay."
༺༻
Stiles Stilinski seriously should have gotten more than seventeen speeding tickets in his life. As many times as Bree had been in the Jeep with him, he often blew past the speed limit, especially when they were pinched for time. For example, the Stilinski teen stomping harder on the accelerator to reach the McCall house faster out of fear for their werecoyote friend. Bree called earlier with no response. She even dialed the number Braeden gave her without luck.
Finally reaching the driveway, Bree barely allowed Stiles to park when she clambered out of the Jeep. The dark-haired teenager shoved the brown package into his backpack before shouldering it, shouting after the blonde, "Bree, wait!"
But she had already thrown open the front door, green eyes wide at the sight before her. Stiles ended up bumping into her back abruptly while Malia's eyes widened in shock and fear. Her mother stood smirking in front of them, snarling, and a gun in hand aimed at the two teenagers that burst through the door. The Desert Wolf tilted her head curiously at the blonde girl whose eyes shined bright amethyst and orange as she glared menacingly.
"Oh, damn," commented a terrified Stiles.
Malia moved too quickly for the two to register, rushing forward and shoving them out of the way into the living room. Stiles' body collided with the wall beside the window and Bree's slid across the floor until she hit the couch, both groaning painfully. Disoriented, Bree shifted around, trying to rid her vision of the dark spots that threatened to take over. She barely recognized Stiles coming to her aid, holding the back of her head.
Before she could say anything, Stiles dragged her behind the couch to avoid the struggle between the Desert Wolf and Malia. They held tightly to one another, hearing the sound of glass breaking from the two crashing into the coffee table. The two heard a sudden loud thud across the room and peeked out from behind the couch to see Malia against the far wall. The Desert Wolf smugly smiled at them, watching the blonde's eyes flicker unnaturally again.
She found herself fascinated by the girl.
Licking his lips and noticing how the assassin stared at Bree, Stiles made an impulsive decision. Despite the concerned call of his name, he hopped over the couch and wrestled with Malia's mom. Bree watched the two toggle, battling for control before the Desert Wolf used her increased strength to twirl them and toss Stiles onto the glass-covered floor. Bree gasped while Malia groaned out Stiles' name, both observing him flip over, a sharp shard in his chest.
༺༻
Allison's hatred toward Theo Raeken began bubbling to the surface once he had snuck up on her, Scott, Liam, and Lydia. In his attempt to gain power, the McCall pack stood in his way, so naturally, he set a trap to electrocute them. Of course, Liam figured it out and pushed Allison and Lydia aside. But when they came to the boys' aid, Theo uttered a fake apology to the girls before shoving Allison into the nearest wall and posing Lydia down a hole in the ground.
Not that it made much of a difference or dent in their plan. Once Theo had failed to absorb the Beast's powers, he found himself on the ground while a group rounded the corner, approaching him. His eyes focused on Liam, Scott, and Allison marching behind Deucalion, who crouched in front of Theo with a knowing smirk.
"You lied to me!" accused Theo, struggling to move on the dirty tunnel floor as Deucalion took a knee beside him. "You and Scott..."
Deucalion removed his sunglasses, replying smugly, "That's right, Theo. The whole time." Closing his unnatural blinded eyes, Deucalion took a moment to move them behind shut eyelids and opened them, revealing his healed eyes.
"It never would've worked," Theo scoffed, realizing he had been played.
Deucalion tilted his head, correcting, "It could've worked. With Belasko's talons."
The Chimera widened his eyes in frustration before Deucalion reached forward and twisted the boy's neck unnaturally. The violent motion paralyzed his body, slumping further onto the ground. Gasping in shock, the Raeken teen realized he wasn't dead, eyes glancing up at the individuals above him.
"You broke my neck," grunted out a royally pissed-off Theo.
"I would have had him kill you," Allison deadpanned. "Be grateful."
"And good luck with that," Deucalion responded uninterestedly before turning to the others. "There's an access grate that leads to the sublevel. I think we can get to Lydia there."
Liam spoke up worriedly, "What about Mason?"
Deucalion assured the young boy, "We can still save your friend."
"Let's go," Scott ordered, leading the way before a gunshot rang out.
The teenagers turned back, eyes wide as Deucalion hit the floor, raising a bloodied hand from the wound in his abdomen. Allison bent down to his side, assessing the damage while her grandfather and father stepped into the light, the former holding the weapon they needed to take on the Beast. The huntress glanced at Deucalion in concern as he grunted out, "This just isn't my day."
"This is a surprising alliance, Scott," exclaimed an irritated Gerard, gun aimed at the teen wolf. "You and Deucalion? How long have you been planning clever little double cross?"
Snatching the cane from his father's hand, Argent stepped forward, claiming, "About as long as he and I have been planning this one." With that, Argent tossed the pike to Scott, who caught it with ease.
"What are you doing?"
Glaring at her grandfather, Allison explained venomously, "Because when we brought you back, we knew you'd be in it to live forever, not to save anyone."
Argent swiftly whirled on his heel, aiming at Gerard, who mirrored his son's actions, a flabbergasted expression on his face.
"Scott, go."
"Dad—"
Argent interjected urgently as she stood from her crouched position, "Allison, go now!"
The three reluctantly obeyed, leaving the two Argents to stand off against one another, and disappeared around the corner. Scott held Allison's hand, the two walking in step together with Liam marching behind them down the tunnel. He watched and felt her flinch at the echoing sound of a gunshot, her hand clamping down hard in his while her breathing picked up, the worry for her father evident. She couldn't look back though, they were running out of time.
They had to find Lydia and save Mason.